Setting eggs today...20th May...anyone else?

[Alaskan]

No, she isn't too young for grit. Remember, if she had been hatched naturally under a chicken, her mama would be taking her all over the dirt at this point. And I am SO VERY happy it wasn't a big problem, and that it Disko is better.

As to candling.......I candled the front row of my tray just a few minutes ago. So, the first row has 5 or 6 eggs. The first looked like a chick (at least there was a large area I couldn't see through), the next few looked very much clear. The last one didn't look clear or as large as the first, so maybe an early death, or slow to develop one?

Who knows.

I am going to be very I pleased if I manage to hatch anything. My incubator has been very unreliable.

I keep wondering if the incubator was this bad the last time I used it and I simply never noticed.....or if this messing up is a new thing.

 

[ashem0]

CG - that's probably an advantage to using a broody instead of an incubator - less likely to fiddle too much with the eggs, let nature take its course. My incubator is right here in my kitchen, so I find I want to check them all the time - they're right under my nose! Not candling that is, just checkin'

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

I candled yesterday, day 15 and all 22 that made it to day 10 were moving! Well except for the two dark blue eggs, but their air cells have grown. Is that a good sign? Thursday will be lockdown and I'll candle before doing so. Hope all is well with everyone hatching this month. ashem0,glad to hear Disco is doing well! Loopy 12, sorry to hear about your eggs. I hope you end up getting good results when hatching comes. Fingers and toes are crossed for ya. Amykins, great candling pictures! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ashem0]

No, she isn't too young for grit. Remember, if she had been hatched naturally under a chicken, her mama would be taking her all over the dirt at this point. And I am SO VERY happy it wasn't a big problem, and that it Disko is better.

As to candling.......I candled the front row of my tray just a few minutes ago. So, the first row has 5 or 6 eggs. The first looked like a chick (at least there was a large area I couldn't see through), the next few looked very much clear. The last one didn't look clear or as large as the first, so maybe an early death, or slow to develop one?

Who knows.

I am going to be very I pleased if I manage to hatch anything. My incubator has been very unreliable.

I keep wondering if the incubator was this bad the last time I used it and I simply never noticed.....or if this messing up is a new thing.

What model is your incubator? Sorry if you already told us - 13 pages of threads to go back over! It sounds very frustrating for you firstly that the incubator is not consistent and secondly your not having much luck seeing through those dark eggs to candle. I guess so long as none of them smell bad... it would be worth leaving them in there, just in case?

Just going to go raid my 'big girls' supply of grit now for Disco!

 

[Amykins]

Best of luck - I hope Disco turns out all right in the end!

 

[ashem0]

I candled yesterday, day 15 and all 22 that made it to day 10 were moving! Well except for the two dark blue eggs, but their air cells have grown. Is that a good sign? Thursday will be lockdown and I'll candle before doing so. Hope all is well with everyone hatching this month. ashem0,glad to hear Disco is doing well! Loopy 12, sorry to hear about your eggs. I hope you end up getting good results when hatching comes. Fingers and toes are crossed for ya. Amykins, great candling pictures! Thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure about the airsac - maybe someone else can comment further on that one. How lovely for you that all of them have made it to day 15! You'll be hopefully petting fluffy chickies just as I'm putting mine into lock-down. (On Sunday, not sure what day/time that will be your end).

 

[ZielinskiFarm]

Just put a dozen silkie eggs on lockdown!!! Expected hatch day is Friday!!!! Come check it out!!!!!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/zielinskifarm/theater

 

[Alaskan]

OK.....

Airsack it is supposed to get bigger over time. Unfortunately though, it is not a sign of a healthy chick. How fast and how much the airspace grows is a reflection of your humidity. Of course, humidity is very important, so a good number of people check the airsack, and watch how it is growing to make sure that their humidity is at the correct level. Instead of watching the airsack, with a very sensitive scale, you can watch how much weight your eggs loose and track humidity that way.

My incubator. It is over 15 years old..at a guess. It is a "pet"iatric brooder with an egg incubator attachment. I just don't know anything about electronics and such. Maybe, due to its age, I should have tried to clean up the heating element and fan more before setting it all up. But I was thinking that I shouldn't touch the parts I didn't understand. Oh, I am the only owner, but I have abused it for years, and store it all jumbled up in the garage. I have used it a few times for chicken and duck eggs, but I think the last time i used it was two, maybe three years back.

I didn't even think to test the egg turner.... And, I didn't think to test for hot spots either! So now I see that the front of the egg tray is colder than the back..I rotate the tray several times a day to compensate.... But the entire thing is a headache! The temps aren't staying as constant as I would like them to be either.

So, I dunno....I wish the 21 days would be over and done with....so that I cold have some idea of how many if any chicks I am getting! BLAH, so frustrating!

 

[loopy12]

Yay, Ashem, on Disco's empty crop. Lol.. Phew. You can give her a little sand instead of grit. Are you only feeding chick crumbs? If she only only has chick crumbs, the official line is she shouldn't need grit, but if you give her anything else - greens etc, then she will need grit. Are you sure it was impacted? Could she have been constipated? Are you keeping her on sawdust/woodchips? I know some of mine in my last hatch got constipated after they ate some wood chips, but were fine after a couple of days back on puppy training pads. If they get constipated then the crop won't empty because there is nowhere for the food to go. Just a thought.

Yay on the candling Amy - looks good!

Compton, the airsac will get bigger regardless because of evaporation, but, you know around day 17/18 the airsac starts to tip to one side as the chick changes position to get ready to hatch, well that tipping won't happen if there is no live chick in it...its not definitive though, sometimes the tipping can happen a bit later after you've already locked down.

Alaskan: you can buy incubator elements and fans online cheaply. I've not done it, but apparently they are easy to install. A fan would solve your hotspots, obviously. Last hatch I used my polysterene incubator that not only sat in the garage but then spent 6 months under water/snow as it was in a big tote at the back where there was a leak in the roof. It worked ok, but the temps kept dropping too low and everything hatched day 22-24 and I had a lot more issues than usual. Are you going to start hatching a lot more or is this a one-off?

Hi Zielinski farm! Good luck!!!

 

[ashem0]

Loopy12: Thanks for your input, but I don't think she was constipated, though she is on wood shavings. I see lots of droppings in the coop. I also check her backside regularly to ensure she is not blocked. But will keep that in mind about the shavings. Not sure we having puppy training pads here. Will have to look into it. Would newspaper be too slippery for them?

I am down to 4 eggs this morning. Got courageous and got rid of the 2 that had quit (I held hope for 1). One turned out to be an early quitter and the other was a little further along. Sad, but everytime I compared them to the good eggs, it was pretty conclusive something wasn't right with these 2.

Zielinski farm: How very exciting for you. How many did you start out with? Are you a breeder? Best of luck!

Alaskan: I'm very interested to see how many you end up with! Thanks for sharing the info on the airsac.